Friday, December 31, 2010

Isn't this pretty? I have had a series of Wallyworld watches for years. Durable. Cheap. My 2 criteria.

This watch is from my husband And it is lovely. And likely not cheap. And is still durable.

Thanks, honey. I wear it every day (well, since I am on vacation). Not sure, I will wear it daily, once I am back to the grind. It don't want to damage it. It will be my special occasion watch ... maybe.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Our tree, before any presents were opened. See all the brightly colored flat envelopes in the front? Those were all of 6 year old Caleb's gift offerings. Each person got several, because there were so many. My contained: a dime, a rock, an eraser, a whistle. :)It snowed all day and night of Christmas Eve. Over 10 inches fell (on top of what we already had).

Miss Addy, sitting in her Bumbo seat at the table, like a big girl. :)

The color and exposure was all wonky on this photo, so black and white was the best. This is my MIL, Virginia, the hubs, his second oldest son, Nate, his wife, Amber and Addy.

CollegeGirl with the gift she gave the hubs. He loooves flamingos and this one is called "Santa Mingo", complete with hat, beard and Santa pants. HAHA

In all his glory!! CollegeGirl gave me the three Wise Men to help round our my Nativity (which she also gave me). I love it.

Too tired for captions tonight. I have neglected the blog and am one post behind, I think.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

The hubs and I went to donate blood today and because of that we both had to recount our Asian travels one year ago (since we both went to place that the Red Cross has on their 'no-no' list, we had to wait one year before donating).

All that recouningt of cities and countries, made me remember the fun and this moment ^^^ was a grand one. The two women with me (and their three darling little girlies) are women I had never met (in real life) prior to this trip, but whom were already dear, dear friends. And the fun we had, traveling in the country of their daughter's births, sealed the deal.

We are sisters of the heart, sister in Christ and friends for ever. <3

Beth and Val, you are two of the BEST!!

(PS Beth is Manny's (and Zoe's ^^^) mom--see video below and sidebar button and Val is the friend who invited me along to help her with her two daughters).

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Last week, when the hubs and I were still on vacation out West, we happened upon a cute store in the town of Nederland, called "Off Her Rocker". Lots of cute and unique things. But the thing I noted first (other than the electric exterior paint colors) was the aroma in the store.

I sniffed each candle's scent (since the young lady working there did not know which one was being burned) and chose one called, "Meditation". After arriving home and unpacking, I decided to get out the candle and try it out.

Now, buying candles for me (or any fragrance product) is tricky because many of them give me a headache. I don't buy/wear perfume for that reason. Usually, in candles, I stick to food scents. heh

And it seems I maybe shouldn't have taken the risk, because after an hour or so of the candle releasing its fragrance in our home, I had a big ole raging headache.

Which, did cause me to meditate a bit (as in, is this headache from the candle? what else could it be? should I take allergy medicine? Or just headache meds? Hmmmm....).

Saturday, December 4, 2010

On the way home from Colorado, we stopped in Des Moines for the State Dance Competition. It has been two years, since our CollegeGirl competed, but we still know and love many of the girls and their Coach.

Ready for their pom routine. Go West High!!

CollegeGirl and her former teammate, in the stands, cheering the girls on.

CollegeGirl and her former teammate had special passes to offer behind the scene help and support to the dancers and their Coach.

Here, they look like they had just gotten some bad news, because they had. At that point, they had just been told they would lose a whopping 10 points because two girls removed their zip hoodies, as they walked off the stage. That is apparently not allowed, without 'prior approval'. Hmmmm...

In the end (after the girls had had a time!! of crying and wailing), the Coach appealed to the judges and the points were restored. Phew.

Happily, the West High Dancers received 3 Division I ratings (one for each routine) and received the Community Service award.

Majestic.These sheep were literally on the side of the road,as we were heading through the canyon, down to the flat lands. They were not AT ALL spooked by our presence. We watched and took pictures a nice, long time.

(squeeeal) A baby!!

Love him chewing his grass. And look at the broken horn. He's been in a tussle.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

So, the hubs and I were enjoying the last day of our get away and we were in a shop I loooove, but try hard not to spend any money in. haha

As we browsed the fine, trendy pretties, I noticed two VERY attractive and smartly dressed people, who made a lovely couple. I assumed they were wealthy 'kids' from the nearby metro area and dismissed them. The young woman, however, kept trying to catch my eye and finally asked, "Did you used to live in ________?"

I looked at her pretty face, really studying, straining to put her face to a name from the past. I couldn't quite do it and she had to supply her name.

As SOON as she said, it I *recognized* her as a childhood playmate and schoolmate of my children's. Her mother and I were friends!! And it was SOOO good to see her!! I practically (ok, I *did*) grabbed her and pulled her into a laughing hug. I think I might have even done it twice. lol The two menfolk stood by, smiling and amused.

It turns our she and her brand new HUSBAND were on their honeymoon (which is odd, because the hubs and I honeymooned here 10 years ago). Her husband was darling and hails from New Zealand. Oh my!!

Here is a photo of the happy couple, who were kind enough to let me snap a photo of them. Sorry for the blur and all, but I dropped my camera the day before, I didn't change the camera settings and lastly, I was all giddy and unable to do well.

All grown up and married. ::gasp::

It lets me know that our turn for this is not too far off. Mark (and thus I) has/have two sons already married, but my two are only 22 and 19 and I hope they wait awhile for this day.